Apple Releases iOS 11 With Revamped Lock Screen, Fresh App Store, New Siri Voice, and Updated iPad Interface

Apple today officially released iOS 11, the newest operating system designed for the iPad, iPhone, and iPad touch. iOS 11 is available on the iPhone 5s and later, the iPad mini 2 and later, the iPad Air and later, and the 6th-generation iPod touch.

The update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software Update. It could potentially take a few minutes for the update to propagate to all users due to high demand.

iOS 11 is a major update that brings a refreshed look and feel to both the iPhone and the iPad. It introduces subtle design changes to interface elements throughout the OS, like bolder text, a new look for apps, revamped icons, and a redesigned usage experience for the Lock screen and the Control Center.


Apple has merged the Lock screen and the Notification Center, so a downwards swipe now brings up the Lock screen and notifications. The Control Center is now customizable and does more, and 3D Touch integration has been expanded.

ios11controlcenter
Siri is smarter than ever and has a new, more natural voice, and Siri is now cross-device, letting the personal assistant learn more about you. Siri can also translate English into several different languages like Spanish and Chinese.

siritranslate
iOS 11 feels a lot different on an iPad. There's now a persistent Dock at the bottom of the display that you can bring up anytime with a swipe, and there's a new App Switcher that's similar to Mission Control on the Mac, letting you see all of your apps -- even those in split-view windows -- at a glance. Apple Pencil does more on iPad Pro, and a new Drag and Drop feature lets you drag links, images, files, and more from one app to another.

ios11appswitcher
A new Files app introduces improved file management, and many apps have new features. Notes offers searchable handwriting and document scanning, Maps has lane guidance and speed limit info, Apple Music lets you see what your friends are listening to, and there are a new tools for editing Live Photos.

ios11ipaddocumentscanner
HomeKit now supports speakers and AirPlay 2 adds multi-room functionality, while Do Not Disturb has been expanded to encompass driving. In a future update, Apple plans to add iCloud Messages and a person-to-person Apple Pay feature.

On the iPad, there's a handy new "Flick" keyboard, while the iPhone has new one-handed keyboard options. You'll see a completely different App Store after installing iOS 11, and a whole host of apps with new capabilities thanks to ARKit and other under-the-hood improvements.

ios 11 app store 5
Note: When iOS 11 is installed, all older 32-bit apps will no longer launch. These are apps that have not been updated for several years, and Apple has discontinued support. Only 64-bit apps are compatible with the new update.

For a full rundown on all of the new features you'll find in iOS 11, make sure to check out our iOS 11 roundup and check out the list below for our extended coverage of tips and how-tos. We'll keep updating the list as we publish these articles throughout the remainder of launch day and beyond.

- How to Find Notifications in iOS 11's New Lock Screen and Cover Sheet
- How to Use and Customize Control Center in iOS 11
- Here's a Look at the First Wave of Augmented Reality ARKit Apps Hitting the iOS App Store Today
- How to Use Drag and Drop on an iPad and iPhone With iOS 11
- How to Use the New iPad Dock in iOS 11
- Drag and Drop Apps for iPad Now Widely Rolling Out on App Store
- How to Use the iPad App Switcher in iOS 11
- What's New in Maps in iOS 11: Indoor Mapping, Lane Guidance and Speed Limits
- How to Use the New Files App in iOS 11
- How to Set Your AirPods to Change Music Tracks in iOS 11
- How to Record Your iPhone or iPad Screen in iOS 11
- PSA: Snapchat Still Notifies You When Someone Screen Records Privately Messaged Snaps on iOS 11
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Aren't Fully Disabled When Toggled Off in Control Center on iOS 11
- How to Use the New One-Handed Keyboard in iOS 11
- How to Enable Type to Siri in iOS 11
- How to Use Siri's New Translation Feature in iOS 11
- How to Use the Redesigned Messages App Drawer in iOS 11
- Safari in iOS 11: Enabling Cross-Site Tracking Prevention to Protect Your Privacy
- How to Make an Apple Music Profile to Connect With Friends in iOS 11
- How to Use Emergency SOS on iPhone in iOS 11
- How to Use Do Not Disturb While Driving in iOS 11
- How to Save Space in iOS 11 With New Storage Features
- How to Turn a Photo Into an Apple Watch Face in iOS 11 and watchOS 4
- How to Use Instant Markup to Quickly Edit Screenshots in iOS 11
- How to Sign Up for iCloud Family Storage Plans in iOS 11
- How to Use Automatic Setup in iOS 11 to Transfer Settings to a New Device
- How to Hide Text Previews for Every App Notification on iOS 11's Lock Screen
- How to Use the iPad's New Flick Keyboard in iOS 11
- How to Use the New iOS 11 Document Scanner in Notes on iPad and iPhone
- How to Edit Live Photos in iOS 11
- How to Use Instant Notes on iPad in iOS 11
- How to Prevent Apps From Showing Up in Search and Siri Suggestions in iOS 11

Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Being Rebranded as Apple TV

Monday October 13, 2025 8:25 am PDT by
Buried in its announcement about "F1: The Movie" making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV. A single line near the end of the press release states "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity," though Apple's website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we're unsure on the details of the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Preparing iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones

Saturday October 11, 2025 6:59 pm PDT by
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released within the next few weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features

Saturday October 11, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Smaller Dynamic Island The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
All AirPods 2025

Apple Reportedly Working on New AirPods Pro, AirPods 5, and H3 Chip

Sunday October 12, 2025 9:24 am PDT by
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a "new version" of the "high-end in-ear buds." AirPods Pro 2...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...

Top Rated Comments

darkarn Avatar
105 months ago
Predicted Summary of this Thread:

1. It's still not out here!
2. Meh, won't update until n number of days
3. OMG IT'S THE BEST UPDATE EVAR1111!!!!
4. Great, [insert bug here] happened

And....

5. Why won't [insert 32-bit app here] work?!?!?! >:(

Thank me later
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
last_call Avatar
105 months ago
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of apps suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ck2875 Avatar
105 months ago
PSA: Yes. It's normal for your iPhone to get insanely hot after updating. It's doing processor-intense things like re-indexing and re-scanning your Photo library for face data.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bryan Bowler Avatar
105 months ago
SO excited! Time to put on my party wig & nipple clamps, and party like it’s 1999!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonblatho Avatar
105 months ago
[insert obligatory MacRumors hot take from someone who hasn’t even installed iOS 11 yet here]
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
flexiboy1912 Avatar
105 months ago
Shame its the same as GM as still some bugs , was hoping they might send out a polished version.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)